Advanced Kidney Biopsy Device with Bleeding Control

Final report for Team 10 of ME450, Fall 2008 semesterThe problem is that many biopsies are not performed in some settings because they may lead to life threatening bleeding complications. Although these complications are rare, they are not zero and are serious enough to prevent the clinician from performing the biopsy and obtaining biopsy tissue needed for accurate diagnosis and treatment of life threatening diseases. The invention involves a couple of points of novelty including a novel biopsy tip design and a novel mechanism of action to actuate the needle tip.William (Rick) Weitzel, Nephrologist, U of M Medical Schoolhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/61919/1/ME450 Fall2008 Final Report - Team 10 - Biopsy Device.pd

The sensory dimension of tourist experiences: capturing meaningful sensory-based themes in Southwest Portugal

aspects of destinations have recently been in focus as an important dimension in the process of facilitating positive tourist experiences. The countryside embraces local resources rich in multi-sensory stimuli that could be utilized in the planning and marketing of appealing tourist experiences addressed to segments of tourists, while fitting sustainable local development. This study follows a holistic approach to the five external human senses, aiming to capture meaningful sensory-informed themes adequate for segmenting rural tourists. A self-administered survey in four languages was collected from 181 tourists in Southwest Portugal. A multiple correspondence analysis suggests four sensory-informed themes, tentatively named generic beach-related experience, nature-based experience, balanced experience, and rural experience. The proposed themes correspond to a four-solution cluster of tourists presenting different profiles. The largest segment (73 tourists) corresponds to the rural experience, regarding which tourists mainly refer to the taste of local food and the smell of fresh air

The Churches' Bans on Consanguineous Marriages, Kin-Networks and Democracy

This paper highlights the role of kin-networks for the functioning of modern societies: countries with strong extended families as characterized by a high level of cousin marriages exhibit a weak rule of law and are more likely autocratic. To assess causality, I exploit a quasi-natural experiment. In the early medieval ages the Church started to prohibit kin-marriages. Using the variation in the duration and extent of the Eastern and Western Churches' bans on consanguineous marriages as instrumental variables, reveals highly significant point estimates of the percentage of cousin marriage on an index of democracy. An additional novel instrument, cousin-terms, strengthens this point: the estimates are very similar and do not rest on the European experience alone. Exploiting within country variation of cousin marriages in Italy, as well as within variation of a 'societal marriage pressure' indicator for a larger set of countries support these results. These findings point to a causal effect of marriage patterns on the proper functioning of formal institutions and democracy. The study further suggests that the Churches' marriage rules - by destroying extended kin-groups - led Europe on its special path of institutional and democratic development

Use of Single IRBs for Multi-Site Studies: A Case Report and Commentary from a National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network Study

Recent NIH policy stipulates that multi-site studies must use a single or IRB (Institutional Review Board) in order to streamline the review process while maintaining standards for human subjects protection. The Western States Node of the Clinical Trials Network (CTN) used a single IRB for protocol CTN-0067, a clinical trial testing the use of an opioid antagonist (extended-release naltrexone) versus opioid agonists (buprenorphine or methadone) for opioid use disorders among individuals living with HIV. This case study discusses the processes and challenges associated with use of a single IRB. These lessons are also informed by other single IRB experiences within the CTN. The intention of the NIH single IRB policy is to facilitate efficient IRB processes. Advanced planning and transparent communication, however, are critical to avoid stalling IRB approval and protocol implementation. Research teams need to account for local IRB willingness to cede to a single IRB and understand the variations in interpretations of abbreviated reviews. In order to facilitate the effective use of single IRBs, recommendations include assigning staff at each study site for IRB submission coordination and interaction with the lead site IRB staff, training investigators and key regulatory staff on expectations for working with single IRBs, dedicating a regulatory specialist at the lead site to manage the process, developing a communication plan, and supporting the development of strong working relationships with local regulatory staff and the single IRB. The CTN experiences with single IRBs may provide insights for other investigators

Functional Brain Networks Underlying Autobiographical Event Simulation: An Update

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies typically explore changes in the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal underlying discrete cognitive processes that occur over milliseconds to a few seconds. However, autobiographical cognition is a more protracted process and requires fMRI tasks with longer trials to capture the temporal dynamics of the underlying brain networks. In the current study, we provide an updated analysis of the fMRI data obtained from a published autobiographical event simulation task, with a slow-event-related design (34-second trials), that involved participants recalling past autobiographical events, imagining past/future autobiographical events, and completing a semantic association control task. Our updated analysis using Constrained Principal Component Analysis for fMRI (fMRI-CPCA) retrieved two networks reported in the original results, including the Default Mode Network (DMN) which was activated in the autobiographical event simulation conditions but deactivated in the semantic association control condition, and the Multiple Demand Network (MDN) which peaked early during all conditions but was more sustained in the recall condition. Two novel networks emerged, including the Maintaining Internal Attention network (MAIN) which, while active for all conditions, was more strongly engaged during the imagination and semantic association control conditions than during the Recall condition, suggesting a role in constructing novel associations. These results suggest that the DMN does not support autobiographical simulation alone, but co-activates with the MDN and MAIN networks, with the timing of peak activations depending on evolving task demands during the simulation process

Domains of masculine gender role stress and intimate partner violence in a clinical sample of violent men

This study investigated the relationship between the specific factors of the Masculine Gender Role Stress (MGRS) scale and intimate partner violence among a clinical sample of violent men. Participants were 339 men court-mandated to attend violence intervention programs. After demonstrating that the 5-factor MGRS model evidenced strong fit in this sample, analyses revealed that MGRS total scores were associated with each form of intimate partner violence perpetration. However, subsequent analyses that regressed each form of aggression onto all 5 MGRS factors simultaneously revealed that different factors were responsible for each association. Specifically, gender role stress regarding failure to perform in work and sexual domains was the only factor associated with psychological aggression, gender role stress regarding appearing physically fit and not appearing feminine was the only factor associated with sexual coercion, and gender role stress regarding intellectual inferiority was the only factor associated with injury to partners. No single MGRS factor was uniquely associated with physical aggression. Implications are discussed in terms of the importance of examining specific domains of gender role stress when studying and treating partner violence. © 2010 American Psychological Association

Domains of Masculine Gender Role Stress and Intimate Partner Violence in a Clinical Sample of Violent Men

This study investigated the relationship between the specific factors of the Masculine Gender Role Stress (MGRS) scale and intimate partner violence among a clinical sample of violent men. Participants were 339 men court-mandated to attend violence intervention programs. After demonstrating that the 5-factor MGRS model evidenced strong fit in this sample, analyses revealed that MGRS total scores were associated with each form of intimate partner violence perpetration. However, subsequent analyses that regressed each form of aggression onto all 5 MGRS factors simultaneously revealed that different factors were responsible for each association. Specifically, gender role stress regarding failure to perform in work and sexual domains was the only factor associated with psychological aggression, gender role stress regarding appearing physically fit and not appearing feminine was the only factor associated with sexual coercion, and gender role stress regarding intellectual inferiority was the only factor associated with injury to partners. No single MGRS factor was uniquely associated with physical aggression. Implications are discussed in terms of the importance of examining specific domains of gender role stress when studying and treating partner violence. © 2008 American Psychological Association